Until Dawn, Life stays Strange
by AntisocialGamer
Summary: Max has told Chloe about Seattle, but not about the full details behind her trip. When the past comes back to hunt her, what will happen to the pair as they find out more secrets and the history behind the ancient butterfly effect.
1. Prologue

_The Butterfly Effect: A tiny butterfly flapping it's wings today can lead to a devastating hurricane weeks from now..._

On the night of 2 February 2013, in the Blackwood Mountain Lodge that is owned by the Washingtons, located near Blackwood Moutain in Alberta, Canada, a group of friends decide to gather for their annual winter getaway. This group consisted of eight teens along with three others that somewhat live at the lodge. And for their getaway, they decided to have a big celebration with many beverages from soda to beer and wine along with very childish games for drunk guest. Even though it felt kind of like a normal party, to them, it was the best night of their lives.

But what they don't know is that maybe their best night will probably backfire on them. For all we know, there might be a predator lurking in the dark cold shadows of winter. Yet again, only time will tell how events might change for the better. Or the worse...

As the party commence, the teens decide to do whatever they want to their heart's content. The younger one out of all the teens, Max Caulfield, gets her camera ready for a picture as the older teens behind her check themselves to see if everything was okay. If their makeup was on right. If their clothes was tidy up. If everyone was there to share the moment. As all of these were checked off their imaginary list, the brunette calls out for her friends to gather around and pose for the camera, to which they all did in their own way.

The passionate friend, Sam, smiled wide at Max's direction as the 'most attractive', Mike put his arm around her along with his girlfriend and drama queen, Emily, who was also smiling. Next to the three was the friendly Ashley, the second drama queen, Jessica, and the quiet yet protective friend, Matt, to which all three of them smiled as well while being close to one another so they could all fit into the pic. The only ones missing from this group photo was the Washingtons, Josh, Hannah, and Beth. No one knew where the girls were but they all knew that the older boy was too drunk to do anything at the minute. Anything but sleep.

At first, the teens thought the picture might come out looking really bad due to the poor lighting in the dark room, but thanks to the younger teen's way of seeing the positive of things, she told them that it looked like a perfect picture waiting to happen. So without wasting anymore time, they all said cheese before a sudden flashing light blinds them for a split second. After the picture came out wonderfully, Max showed everyone the results of the pic. The majority of them all thought it was great! All except for Emily and Jessica who thought it got their bad side. The photographer would argue about their criticism if she would but right now wasn't the time.

Now was the time for things to come in action.

Ashley and Matt worked their way upstairs to the second floor quietly so no one would notice. And no one did. Especially Max since she was too busy looking at one of her works of art. In her mind, the group photo was astonishing to her unlike the drama queens of the party. She thought of it more like a treasure in the way and told herself she would put this on her wall as a symbol of their friendship. A symbol of this night. A night she will never forget.

Before she could get lost into thought, the sound of low laughter caught her attention. And not just any laughter, no. It sounded like a evil laughter almost but with a mixture of normal laughter too. Either way, it made the brunette question what was going on behind her so she turned to find Mike, Emily, Jessica and Sam crowded in a little circle, whispering to one another. Only then did Max's little mind wonder.

She thought they could be laughing about a show they looked at. Or maybe about a event that happened at the party she didn't catch due to messing with her camera. Or maybe. They were talking about someone? Nah. She knew they would never do such a thing as bully a person. That would be cruel. But what was really cruel was that her mind started to come up with the worse scenarios she's ever thought of. If this kept up, she'll be coming off as the rude one. The only way to stop this was to confront the teens and find out what all the gossip was about.

So, she slowly walked towards them and jumped in the conversation nicely with a quiet, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh nothing, nerd," Emily replied with a small dash of venom in her voice. The venom that almost pierced Max's heart before she found a way to maintain herself from yet another insult from the teen. "We're just getting ready for the grand finale of the party."

"Grand finale?"

"Yeah, our friend, Jessica here," She cooed while pointing to her best friend who waved playfully at the young teenager. "Has put on a show for all of us that is going to be a blast. I just still can't believe she actually did it, though." She finished her sentence in surprise out loud which lead the girl to shush her so no one else could get on the big surprise waiting for them. Or at least that's what it felt like to Max, who still had no clue as to what was going on.

"Don't you guys think this is a little bit too cruel," Sam whispered to her friends with a hint of concern and worry in her voice.

"Oh come on, she deserves it," Jessica responded back, only making her young brunette friend more confused as to what or who they were talking about. That was until the conversation continued.

"It is not her fault that she has a huge crush on Mike-."

"Hannah's been making the moves on him. I'm just looking out for my girl Em."

Hannah Washington. The only one out of the teens that has always been thought into thinking she was one of them. One of the cool kids by the popular teens of the party. In Max's eyes, she was just like her except if she focused more on math and reading then photography. The two were still friends though and she was honestly the reason she met the others in the first place. But even though they had the same friends and were similar in many ways, the brunette could honestly tell that these guys were not her and Hannah's friends. Yet, even though she wasn't blind like her bff, she stayed with them because in a way, she found that hanging out with them was almost like hanging out with.

Her.

She guessed it just felt good. Or it kept her on ease or sane from trying to cry every single day. Only she would know why. And only she would defend her friend with Sam.

Soon, the group of mischief and Max made their way to the second floor of the lodge for this so called 'grand finale' or whatever they called it. As they did, Emily blurted out to the others while walking down the hall with a sway in her hip due to the delight of the changes in the night, "Just because he's class Prez, doesn't mean he belongs to everyone... Mike is my man."

"Hey, Em. I'm not anybody's man." Mike countered in his deep toned same voice that wooed the ladies. The same voice that sometimes made the young photographer want to barf.

"Whatever you say, darling~!" With that, the group split up to either see how things will go down or to explore the lodge more. Knowing Max, she decided to search around the place and see if she could get anymore good scenery on her camera. Sam went to go find Hannah and the rest of the teens got ready for the show.

In her mind, the brunette knew that this 'show' would turn the party into a complete and utter disaster. It actually made her the slightest worried about the aftermath. Maybe Josh or Beth will find out about their little tricks and beat them to a bloody pulp. Or maybe they won't be friends anymore due to them being so immature. Either way, it would be pretty cool to see Emily and Jessica plead for mercy. She could picture it now. The tears running down the queens' faces like waterfalls, the stutters in their shaking voices and the sad body language they'll give off to the king of the lodge. The thought alone was enough to make the brunette giggle quietly to herself.

That was until she heard a loud "oh my god" from upstairs. By the sound of it, she could already know who it was. Hannah. Just like she feared, the show went on and she just found out that she was the show. It could only get worse from there. Max dashed up to where the others were to see the outcome of their little trick. And what she found, seemed to have stabbed her heart.

Emily and Jessica had their heads popped out from under the bed of the dark room in surprise. Ashley and Matt popped out of the closet with the boy teen holding a phone up by a selfie stick. And finally, Mike looked at the poor teen with prosperity, interest and bewilderment. All together, it caused Hannah, who had almost taken off her shirt to freeze like a statue in front of everyone. Soon, Sam entered the room to try and calm the scared girl down. But it was no use. She rushed her way out by pushing Max slightly to the side of the door and running straight out of the shelter they had.

"You guys are fucking jerks, you know that?!" Max yelled at them with so much rage before she ran outside to find her best friend in the deep snowy night. Her eyes tried to invert to the darkness of the woods but nothing seemed to help. All she could see was the white powdered ground below her and the black painted trees that surrounded the entire area. There was no way Hannah could be seen through the chaos at this point. So the only thing Max could possibly do now was call out for her best friend.

"Hannah!" She screamed out to the forest which only swayed it's branches back and forth to her call. No response. She almost tried one more time before Beth came out of the lodge with the others and asked in worry,

"What's going on? Where's my sister going?"

"Ugh, it's fine," Jessica responded with a wave of her hand to the air in annoyance. "She just can't take a joke."

"It was just a prank, Han," Emily yelled out in a emotionless way that it caught Hannah's sister's attention in just seconds. She decided to ask yet again before her mind would start to think of sick thoughts as to what happened. "What did you guys do?!"

"We were just messing around, Beth," Mike answered her quietly. "It wasn't serious-," But that answer wasn't enough for the teen to just shrug off what probably had happened. She knew that they all did something really bad to her sister and they were going to pay for it. But until then, all the girl could call them was jerks and chose to put matters into her own hands by going after the victim of the prank as everyone else stood there in complete shock and fear at the change of events.

All except for Mike who asked his friends and Max, "So... Should we go after her."

"Fuck you, Mike!" Max blurted out on the top of her lungs to the male before her eyes stared daggers at the issue. More like the issues, which was everyone except for Sam, who kept trying to see if Hannah was anywhere in sight. "No. Fuck all of you! How could you have done this to Hannah!?"

"Oh, she'll grow out of it-."

"No, you will, bitch!" The brunette cut off Emily as she dropped her jaw at the words she decided to choose for her. Especially from being called a bitch. To anyone else, they would've kept quiet and let her talk. But no. She wanted to counter for the way she was being treated. So she responded in a harsh manner before pushing Max, "Who are you calling bitch, book worm?!"

"You! Hannah actually thought you guys were her friends! And she actually thought Mike liked her! Unlike me. No. I already knew you guys were playing with us like we were your fucking play things! Well, tonight is the last time I'm treated like that! I'm going home!"

"So, your friend is out in the blizzard and you just decide upon yourself to go running to your mom and dad like a baby?!"

"I'd rather be a baby then hang out with immature freaks like you! Oh. And here's your picture, guys! Hope you guys put it into GREAT use!" With that, Max slammed her 'treasure' to the snow and stepped on it fiercely in front of everyone like she was putting out a cigarette. The crunching noise that came from it just couldn't help but make the teens shiver in anger and sadness. Matt and Ashley actually wanted to tell both her and Hannah that they were sorry for their actions. But as for the 'preps', they couldn't say anything but goodbye and good riddance.

That night, Max Caulfield left the Blackwood lodge and her friends for what felt like forever and only prayed that things would get better for the teens later on in the future. That is, until as soon as she went home, she found out that Hannah and Beth went missing after that argument. It should've made her worried. But it only made her think. What if they were right? What if she was just another sick friend of Hannah? What if all she ever cared about was herself this entire time? If she actually cared for her bff, she would try to stop the prank or even comfort her. But she didn't. And in her book, it only made her worst then the others combined. It only made her think that she was the bigger bully.

Either way, now the brunette tries to forget that day ever happened. Forget she ever went to the lodge. Forget she ever left Hannah. Forget she ever met those sick teens. But still, with all her might. She could still remember the horrible moments as they keep haunting her dreams some nights. As she could still hear Emily blame her for what happened.

As she can still hear Hannah question her one and only friend,

"Why did you leave me?..."

And all Max can say to her is a quiet and broken,

 _"I'm sorry..."_


	2. 1 Calm after the storm?

Max's blue eyes slowly fluttered open to find herself in the moving truck and surrounded by many trees that seemed to be dead and covered in snow along with the ground below that she could barely see through the dirty window. She could feel small drops of sweat run down her head as her heart beat at a fast rate. Calming herself down didn't seem to work since the engine of the vehicle was making her more nervous about her surroundings. All she could do at the minute was think to herself quietly.

Another dream of her had occur. And it was more worst then the last. The cries of help and the guilt with a side of fear running up and down her spine like a snake. Her dead body in front of her cold and all bloody from the injuries she had earned. The scene was enough to make her cringe in her seat. It was enough to almost bring a tear to her eye.

It was enough to make Chloe notice in plain sight as she touched the brunette's shoulder ever so lightly to get her attention. As their eyes connected, the punk friend could see fear deep in Max's eyes. She didn't know what caused this but she had a good idea as to what it could've been. So she asked her girlfriend in a quiet tone while slowing down her car a little so anything bad wouldn't happen.

"You okay?" The answer she got from the girl was only a small nod before she looked down at the bottom of her seat to avoid eye contact. That didn't work though. Instead, it only made Chloe worry more about what was going on with the photographer. It only caused the blue haired girl to question yet again, "Was it a bad dream?"

She guessed right, but Max answered wrong as she pretended it was just another dream of the storm. She replied in a saddened tone, "I keep having the same damn one. And it's. Pretty annoying now."

"I would say the same thing if I had the same dream every time I sleep. Sadly, I don't. Instead of that, my dreams are either one of me riding a dinosaur or it's plain wet." The older teen told her love with a smirk, waiting for the younger one to laugh or at least giggle from the joke. But instead, she sat in her seat like a statue while Chloe's smile vanished into a small frown before she picked up the pace and drove fast again. As the silence kicked back in again, the punk continued, "Max. You shouldn't be worried about the storm. That stuff was in the past. Everyone's fine now! Well, thanks to you being Super Max, as always. So quit thinking of the worst. I mean. We are still alive, right?"

"Right. I understand... It's just. How can you stay so normal after so much crap had just happened?"

"Jesus, Max. Because I'm not a Doc Brown like you. I'm Marty McFly. I move forward and leave the past alone. That incident was four months ago! I was exoecting you to drop it sooner or later."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Blow me."

"I mean, just think about it this way," Max shifted in her seat to stare at Chloe seriously even though she wasn't having eye contact with her and asked a question as if it was one that would change both of their lives forever. "What if I had screwed up while helping evacuate everyone out of Arcadia Bay? What if everyone had died including me? Think of you in my place. What if you had failed to be the hero your entire life and all of the lives you failed to save threw Karma at you and killed you?"

With that, the punk again slowed down the car for a second and pulled it over to a sudden stop. As she checked the oil and the battery, she answered in a serious tone, "Then I would be okay with it. I mean, if it's me we're talking about, I wouldn't be afraid to die, you know that since I almost sacrificed myself for everyone else. Yet your stubborn self hella saved my ass. And I appreciate that. Then again, if I was in your place and I couldn't save everyone, I would feel like shit. I would feel sad about everyone's lives taken away. Especially yours. But not mine. Because I know that deep down. I need to be punished."

"You know that's not true, Chloe."

"It's true for me and you. We're all going to be punished sooner or later. We just. Have to be ready for whatever the world throws at us. I'm ready. Are you though?" The older teen turned to the younger one for their eyes to connect yet again and questioned one more time, "When the time comes, will you be ready for the punishment we so much deserve?"

Max couldn't help but be lost at words until she thought about it. Chloe was being so serious that this could all be one huge dream, she thought. But then again, they both been through some crazy and bad things so far in their lives. So it wasn't much of a surprise to see that the blue haired punk had grown up a little bit. Still, she thought deeper into the matter. Chloe's punishment was probably going to be a slap to the face or for her phone to break. Her on the other hand?

She caused her friends to disappear. Maybe die that night. She caused all of her so called friends to break up. All because she thought of herself and no one else. Her punishment was so going to be death. And to be honest, she wasn't going to be ready for it. But for her and her girlfriend's sake, she had to lie this once so everything would be okay at the minute.

So she responded with a reassuring smile, "Yeah. As long as you're with me, I think I'm ready for anything."

"That's the Caulfield I know and love," Her girlfriend smirked before she leaned to the brunette for a sweet kiss. The two sunk into the feeling for a while as Max thought to herself that she had to savor this. There was something about what Chloe said that got to her in a way and it made her think that time would kick her in the ass as well. So she decided to savor every little moment of the kiss she was given right now. She decided to make it even more special by sliding her fingers into the blue hair the older teen had. It made the teen giggle as she rubbed her hands down the brunette's back nice and slowly then moving them up her shirt for more action.

Sadly, before things could go further, the punk broke the kiss and breathed, "As much as I want to rock your world right now, Maxine. We got a little problem on our hands."

"And what is that, Che?"

"Uh, the truck is out of gas again."

"Damn it, Chloe."

"I know. And you know what that means, right?"

"... Get out of the car. Now... Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."

As the two teens got out of the truck, they both took in the scenery around them. The white powder falling from the sky really made the area look like a winter wonderland as the trees were bathed in it alongside the dark ground, making the green grass be painted white. The sky wasn't so bad either since it was pretty dark but not so much to make nothing be seen in the distance, thanks to the shine of the moon above.

Before Max could take a decent picture with her phone, Chloe pulled her by the shoulder to the back of the vehicle so they could get to work. The two then pushed the car on the side of the road as hard as they could. It was going slow for them but steady as well. The brunette looked as the cars passed them at a fast rate, blinding her from the lights that illuminated through the cold wind. The blue haired girl on the other hand, was just pushing the car as if it was her life time goal to. That was until she noticed her love's little frown on her little face.

"Aw, please don't be mad at me, Maximus," she joked, earning a small laugh from her.

"I'm not. I was just thinking to myself."

"About?"

"... Seattle..."

"Uh. What about it," Chloe asked, now kind of concerned as to why she would be thinking about the years without her. Or of the place she had suddenly hated for some odd reason.

"I was just thinking about if I made the right choice."

"You mean if passing it up was good or not?"

"Y-Yeah," Max replied with a stutter and a short sigh. Another thing that was making her sort of confused was the fact that after leaving Arcadia Bay, the girls traveled for a very long time. Letting the road take them wherever they go. But as they did, they came across Seattle, the place where everyone else was. The place where her parents were. And for some odd reason, when her girlfriend asked if she wanted to make the stop there, she refused quickly. As if she already thought of the situation. But she didn't. It was weird at first, even though the punk told her to not worry about it. But still, it would always cross her mind. And so did the horrible past...

"I think it would be good either way. I mean, if you said yes, I could've seen my mom again and you could've seen your parents again. Since you said no though, I have had more time with you all for myself."

"Whatever..."

"Say, Max?"

"Yes, Chloe?"

"I gotta question... When you was at Seattle. Did you have any friends there? I ask because you always seem to tell me about the scenery and stuff, but not about what personally happened to you. Did something bad happen?"

"Of course not," The young teen lied yet again to the older one. "And. Yeah, I did have friends, but they weren't like Rachel. They were bastards to the core."

With just the mention of the blue haired's friend, she stopped pushing the car and responded in anger, "How many times am I going to have to keep on telling you, Max? I _loved_ Rachel. And she _loved_ me. The fact that you still worry I kind of use you as a replacement really hurts."

"T-That's not what I think, Chloe. It's just... Sometimes I think I could do better. That I could really fill in that void of her. That for once. I can make things better. Without using time travel..."

"And you do, Max. Everyday with you is one of the best days of my life. Don't ever forget that." Chloe then hugged Max tightly, causing warmth to emerge between the two prior to them pushing the vehicle yet again on the icy grass that died from the hard rubber wheels. It almost got silent yet again until the photographer questioned lightly, "Is it weird that I think the powers are still hidden inside me or are going to come back?"

"No. I mean. Sometimes I think you use it secretly to stop all my mistakes though."

"Promise. I don't."

"Well, to be honest, I kind of hate it when you look like your in the slumps. So, uh, can you smile and change the subject?"

Without hesitation, the brunette smiled lightly at her girlfriend, who then smiled back at her hopefully. The two continued to travel the car further down the road in search for a gas station. And even though Chloe hoped that there was one, Max hoped that things would go well on this trip. That the powers would never ever come back again and cause hell on Earth. That she would never see _them_ again. That if her punishment was to come,

 _That she would truly be ready for it..._

 **That was chapter one, hope you guys like it. And um, just a heads up, if you guys didn't understand what was happening, I suggest you read Max: The everyday hero to understand better. But if you do, props to you. I know this chapter was kind of fluffy a little bit and just filled with questions, but I'm just setting these two up for the 'time' of their lives. Until then, have a good day! :)**


	3. 2 Past and Future

The night continued as the clouds above the forest below started to turn into a darker shade of gray and snow constantly fell on the grass and trees that covered's Earth's surface. With this, the girls under the sleet given from the sky tried to still push the empty fueled car with their bare hands as grunts came from both of their mouths. With all their strength, they found themselves pushed to the limit instead of the car's destination when they both at the same time made their eyes meet with their palms. They were covered in rusted paint from the old truck, a few scratches and now the snow delivered.

With this in sight and a pant, the blue haired punk couldn't help but breathe out through breaths, "We should. Take a break... Okay?"

"Yeah," The brown haired teen replied with a pant of her own before laying on the car's back with her girlfriend. As they took a breather, the older teen started to take out a cigarette and lit it up with a lighter from her pocket in front of her lover, making her notice the light illuminating from the silver rusted object and looking in disgust. "Seriously? Right now?"

"Better then when I'm driving," Chloe responded with a puff of smoke that soon escaped from her mouth and camouflaged into the air. "Besides,it's not like I'm killing anyone."

"You're killing yourself. Softly and slowly."

"Eh. I don't care. And besides, I thought we were taking a break, not a lesson on smoking."

"We are... Fine, I'll let you smoke, but just this once."

"I can smoke whenever I want to, Super Max." With that being said, the two went back into silence once again. As they did, Chloe continued to smoke her joint like it was a work of art while Max decided to leave the scene for her own good. Besides, she didn't want to start being a secondhand smoker or she would end up like her girl or god knows what. So instead, she made her way into the driver's seat of her love's car and decided to listen to some tunes for a while as she turned up the radio. She expected to hear music, but what she did hear was something that shocked her a little as a male voice announced through the speakers,

"Today marks the one year anniversary of the dreadful tragedy that took place on Mount Washington. Sheriff Annie Cline who was in charge of the investigation."

"Thank you for having me, Marty," A female voice chimed in out of nowhere, revealing the man's name to the one person audience.

"Listeners an update of Hannah and Beth Washington. The twins who are still missing."

"One year ago tonight, the Washington girls left the safety of their parents' lodge and headed out into a snow storm."

"Foul play?"

"Not officially, no. There is one individual we're considering as a person of interest but his whereabouts are currently unknown. He has an interesting history with the Washington family. He had warned them against pursuing their construction project and claimed the land was sacred to his forefathers."

"You know there is still the old Sanatorium on the mountain. Could he be hiding there?"

"My officers did search the grounds, but the girls themselves couldn't have made it that far."

"Something about that mountain seems to breed tragic events."

"More then you know, Marty."

"Well thank you for joining us, Annie."

"... To all Washingtons tonight... Their son Josh on this, the anniversary of the disappearance of Hannah and Beth Washington."

That name alone was able to make Max feel a shiver go down her spine quickly. Josh Washington, she thought. It's been a while since she had heard or seen him. The thought of hearing his voice once more made a smile erupt on her face, a sad one to be exact. She felt horrible that his family members were gone and she wasn't there with him to help get over this suddenly one year anniversary. The thought truly made her want to cry a little. Just a little bit. But this was stopped before it could happen when she heard a playful yet sort of deep voice appear on the radio now to blurt out,

"Well hello friends and fans... Alright, let's do that again... Alright, well hello friends and fans! It's beyond awesome to have you guys back this year. First off, I'm super excited to welcome all my pals back to the Blackwood winter getaway! So, um... Let me just let you know , let's take a moment to address the 'elephant in the room' for a second... I know, you're all probably worried about me and I know it's going to be tough for all of us to going back after what happened last year. But I just want you to know it means... It means so much to me that we're doing this. And I... And I know it means the world to Hannah and Beth that we're still here together, thinking of them... I really want to spend some quality time for each and every one of you and share the moments we'll never forget. Especially you, Photo Mouse."

The nickname immediately made the nerd teen laugh for a second as she shook her head playfully. She would expect Josh to forget that nickname. And her for that matter. But she guessed he didn't. And that alone, made her feel happy once again for him to give her a shout out. Sadly, she didn't really think she would be there this year since she's trying to run away from demons. So she returned back into a sad state suddenly, but didn't stop listening to a single word her old friend was giving at that moment.

"For the sake of my sisters, you know? Okay... So! Let's party like we're porn stars, okay? And make this one trip we'll never forget, alright? Yes!"

"I wish I could party like a porn star right now," Chloe blurted out from the side of her lover so suddenly that it made the younger teen jump before hitting the shoulder of a laughing punk. "What, did I hella scare you?"

"You hella did," The brunette answered with a small pout. "What is it? Why did you sneak up on me like a total stalker?"

"Oh yeah. I was going to tell you to not waste my battery. And that break time is over. All hands on deck, matey!"

"Ugh, fine." With that, Max turned off the vehicle, jumped out of it and made her way to the back to help Chloe with matters. The two soon pushed the truck with all their strength, grunting once again at the weight they had to push for the next few hours. Or at least that's what it felt like for the both of them until hours turned into slow minutes.

After about a couple of what felt like days later, the two of them found their stamina running out quickly as they started to feel their arms, hands and legs cramp up from the work given. This continued to be the case until both girls decided to stop their transportation at a place where light was easily given to the travelers. With their resting place for the night chosen, the teens stopped pushing the blue haired teen's car and took a breath on the bench provided.

As they breathe in slow and heavy breaths, the owner of the truck blurted out once again, "Okay. We can stop. But tomorrow, we are so definitely going to find a corner store. Because I fucking hate pulling my fucking truck for god knows how long!"

"That's what you get for not listening to me when I told you to stop at one two days ago."

"Shut it... Just let me rest, damn it." The two stayed silent once again as Chloe rested her head lazily on the bench behind her as her girlfriend thought to herself in silence. She still couldn't get the thought of Josh remembering her out of her mind. Yeah, they were good friends, but she just couldn't believe her thought of her this whole time. But he was probably the only one out of her true and fake friends to remember her. So she didn't expect others to call her out on the radio. Unless she was proven wrong.

But until then, she joined the blue haired punk in a rest on the rusty bench, laying her head on her lover's lap softly. She expected a good night sleep and no nightmares required. After that it was back to business in the morning... Or at least that's what she thought until her eyes fluttered open from a soft touch and met with ones she thought she would never see again as the figure greeted,

"Hello, Max." With this, the nerd beamed up from her girlfriend, only to smile at the newcomer and reply in a sweet low tone,

"Oh my god... Sam?..."


	4. 3 Invitations

Shock was shown all over Max's face as her body froze in surprise. Her blood ran cold while her heart skipped a beat due to mixed emotions. And her breathing only became faster and faster as more seconds of silence passed her through the breeze. And this was all due to the presence of one person.

Samantha. Mostly known as Sam.

And man, did she look exactly the same like she did on that day. She still had that blonde hair that the brunette before her just loved all pinned up in a classic bun-like hairstyle at the back of her head with a few locks framing her face. Her hazel eyes were still apparent along with her dark red lipstick she adored.

As for a choice in clothing, she wore a purple long sleeved shirt, a black leather jacket wrapped with a thick scarf that was the same shade of her lip's cover around her neck, grey boots with white trimmings, a fur hat and a red plaid skirt along with black tights. But even with the clothing, she still looked like the same caring Sam that Max has always grown to love like a bff.

And because of this, she just couldn't help but hug the woman in a tight embrace filled of joyful laughter. The two stayed in this embrace for what felt like forever as they took in their long awaited touch from one another. And it could've went on for much longer until the blonde broke the hug softly to reply happily, "It is so good to see you, Max!"

"It's good to see you too," The nerdy teen responded in the same tone. "W-What are you doing in this snow, anyway?"

"Oh, didn't you hear about the winter getaway? You should know it always takes place at the Blackwood Pines lodge."

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten that, but I'm trying to know what you're doing _here_." The brunette asked more specifically that time. This allowed for the older teen to look in confusion before getting a clue and answering with laughter,

"Have you forgotten where the place was already? Max, I'm trying to get to the lodge, which is behind you up the mountain."

"Really?" With such information given, Max couldn't help but turn around to be delivered a huge mental slap in the face by the Blackwood Pine's sign hanging right before her. The impact was enough to make a shiver of ignorance, excitement, and a dash of fear run down her spine. It was one thing for her to know that she was reunited with her best friend, but as well as to be a few steps away from others was another.

She wanted to tell her old friend that she was sorry about acting so dumb. Actually, she just wanted to be on her way for some odd reason. But before she could do so, Sam asked her nicely, "Are you going to introduce your friend to me?"

"Yeah, Max," Chloe agreed sarcastically while turning to her brunette friend with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Max apologized. "Chloe, this is Sam, a old friend I made a long time ago in Seattle. Sam, this is Chloe, childhood friend and... Girlfriend."

"What's up," The blue haired punk greeted herself casually to the blonde, who greeted back,

"Hey. I always knew Max was a lesbian. But I didn't know she had a thing for bad girls."

"Trust me, I can rock your world."

"Wait," Max interrupted, dumbfounded by what her old friend had stated a few seconds ago. "You knew I was a lesbian? Was it that obvious?"

"Of course it was," Sam answered. "Everyone had a clue about it. Even Hannah and Beth had a clue as well... Feels like yesterday we were just sitting around and taking pictures with your camera... Good times."

"Yeah. I wish I could go back in time just to relive those memories."

"Easy for you to say," Chloe whispered under her breath, earning a punch on the shoulder by her love. One that was pretty hard for the punk to try and hold in a squeal as the blonde before them sustained the conversation.

"Speaking of good times, are you heading to the getaway too? It would be really cool if you were there to catch some new memories for us. Not to mention give me some time to know Chloe and how you guys are so inseparable."

"Is this the same party that that dude on the radio said that he wanted to party like he was a pornstar at," The blue haired teen asked in curiosity. "Because if so, then I am so in."

"Chloe-."

"Then you're in luck," The older teen quickly interrupted her friend with a smirk that equaled that to the one on the other's face. "Follow me and I'll take you to the lodge in no time."

"Yes! Let's go party like we're pornstars!" In just seconds, as if her life flashed before her eyes, Max watched as her lover followed her old friend quickly through the snow like there was no tomorrow. In all honesty, Max really didn't want to go up that mountain and meet with past faces. For all she knew, they probably wanted to kill her for what she's done in the past. She just wanted to take Chloe, continue to push the car towards a gas station, get fuel, then hit the road. But since she's here now. Heading to the lodge of death. There was no other choice. All she could do was hope that her love's got her back.

As the three of them made their path to their destination, they soon come face to face with a gate. The gate that leads them to the lodge. They expected for it to be opened without a problem. But instead, the three teens found a paper on the gate that read, 'Gate's busted. Climb over!- Josh'. With that being said, Sam turned to her friends to tell them quietly, "The gate's broken. We're gonna have to climb up."

"Don't see that as a big deal," Chloe responded before starting to jump up on the rock structured wall beside her as if it was nothing. As climbed quickly to the other girl's surprise, she continued, "I used to climb up fences and walls all the time when I had to bounce from a place I robbed into. This is child's play."

"You robbed places," The blonde teen asked in disbelief.

"Chloe ran away from home while I was with you guys," Max informed her. "When she didn't have money, she would just break into places and steal what she needed. Just like last week."

"Hey," The punk teen blurted out from the top of the wall. "We had to survive someway on our little ride down the highway to hell."

"So you went down the dark side ever since last year," Sam questioned her old friend in shock. "I'm impressed a little. Scared, but impressed."

"We can talk about this after you two get over this wall. Now one of you grab my hand." The first to be pulled over the wall was Sam, who grabbed Chloe's hand lightly so she could see the distance from where she was while falling to the floor below gracefully. And finally was Max, who took her love's hand and landed on the ground with her on the other side of the wall. As they continued their little journey, the older teen asked the middle one,

"So Chloe. How did you and Max get together?"

"Well, if you didn't know, Arcadia Bay was destroyed by a tornado, which was her hometown," the blue haired punk stated.

"Max did tell me she was from Oregon. And I had a feeling she was close to the disaster when it happened. So, what really happened there?"

"... Let's just say I had a bad life if you didn't know by now. I was so upset and displeased with my life that I hella wanted to die."

"Hella?"

"It's something I just say instead of hell, you'll get used to it. Anyways, I wanted to just leave this god awful planet until Super Max came and saved everyone including me. If it wasn't for her, everybody from that town wouldn't have survived that storm. She saved my life. Actually, she was always there for me, even when I didn't need her. And because of that, I thought it was destiny that brought us together ever since we were kids. And because of that, we're a thing now... What about you? How did you meet my partner in crime?"

"I don't know the full story. I just saw Max wondering on my school campus like a lost duckling before we decided to talk and hangout from there. I kinda don't remember it like the back of my hand, but I was always happy that I met her."

"I remember," Max chimed in suddenly as she slowed down to their pace. "My old high school was going on a field trip to a college not far from our campus. We just went there to get a look of things, but knowing me, I was too lost into the work of art they had that I became lost from my school. Due to this, I asked Sam for help. But instead of helping me, we talked and had fun for hours with her friends until my mom found me later on that day. Oh man, they were so mad that I got grounded for a month."

"Sorry about that by the way," The blonde apologized, making her old friend chuckle slightly.

"It's okay. At least it made me a best friend after all."

"So was she my replacement like how Rachel was your replacement," Chloe asked with crossed arms that only made her girlfriend laugh a little harder at the cold shoulder given.

"What? Don't tell me you're jealous."

"I can be the jealous type. I guess this just adds things up. I'm jealous of strawberry shortcake over there while you're jealous of people who have a bigger ass then you," The blue haired teen stated while she stared at her childhood friend's old friend's ass with a devilish smirk. Her lover didn't get a clue until she looked in her direction before hitting her shoulder once more, making the other teen jump with laughter. "Don't worry. She doesn't have a lot of junk in the trunk."

"You are disgusting."

"And that's why you love me."

"Hey guys, come check this out," Sam called out from not so far to the two teens quietly for them to approach her to the scene. What they found when they got to her was something that looked really old, or at least seemed to old to be in this generation. And that was none other then a totem carved out of wood and painted in yellow. With the object in hand, the middle teen couldn't help but ask,

"A totem? What's it doing in the woods? Waiting for brother bear or something?"

"I don't know." The totem was soon taken from Sam's hands into Max's softly for her to examine the figure closely. As she did so, she soon found a hole carved into it in the shape of what looked like a butterfly. If the shape wasn't enough to cause suspicion for the brunette, when her eyes scrolled to the center of the whole, her sight became a blur. And before she knew it, she was able to see a bird landing on a snowy table for a few seconds before flying away from the sight of a man behind a light pole.

She wished she could look deep into this, but before she could, she was snapped back into reality like nothing ever happened. With the sudden action made, Max found herself inhaling air heavily to Chloe and Sam's worry, causing her girlfriend to ask with concern, "Woah, Max. You okay there?"

"... Uh. Y-Yeah. Just... Got a chill..."

"Well, if you're getting cold, I can lend you my jacket-."

"No. You have a sleeveless shirt on. You'll freeze your ass off here if you do that."

"If you need to take a break-."

"I don't need a break either, Sam. I was just cold from the sudden breeze at the moment, I'm fine. Let's just get to the lodge." Just like that, as if nothing had happened, the two girls followed the brunette back up the path to their destination. Sam and Chloe were soon able to brush the moment off, but it still found itself glued to Max's mind with a staple. What happened, she thought. Was it a illusion? A vision? Or was it... Whatever it was, the young teen didn't know. But she was definitely going to find out.


End file.
